ALI Carter swept aside reports of a rift with Ronnie O’Sullivan after the two brushed shoulders during Carter’s shock victory at the Snooker World Championship.

Carter, who is from Chelmsford, had never beaten the five-times world champion in a ranking competition before the second round clash over the weekend.

But he went shoulder-to-shoulder with O’Sullivan, who lives in Chigwell, throughout the contest and went on to win 13-9 against the competition favourite.

However, it was what happened in the match’s 19th frame that was the main talking point, with O’Sullivan calling Carter ‘Mr Angry’ during the exchange.

“It was nothing,” Carter told the BBC. “He is walking to his chair, I’m walking to the table, we brushed shoulders, it’s no big deal.

“Ronnie is a master in all areas, a master of one-upmanship, but I was going to do whatever it took to win.

“In the past I’ve been guilty of Ronnie intimidating me like he probably has with other players.

“It’s nice to finally get one up but I feel like a different person since I last played him in 2012. I’ve been through so much in my life.”

After the two players shook hands at the match’s conclusion, two-time finalist Carter - beaten in both the 2008 and 2012 finals by O’Sullivan - celebrated in front of the Crucible crowd.

O’Sullivan had lost to Carter just once in 17 previous meetings but won to set up a clash against Mark Williams for a right to play in the semi-finals earlier this week.

And while O’Sullivan admitted there had been tension in the past, he also brushed off what happened in this encounter.

“I’ve known Ali since he was 10 years of age. Sometimes it gets a bit tense out there but it’s all behind us,” added O’Sullivan.